Touching the Moon
by piper maru duchovny
Summary: Sometimes you just have to get out of the city lights and remember what life is all about. - MOSS takes place in season 4


**I know I owe you guys an update on Love Like Crazy and I promise it's coming soon but inspiration cannot be denied. This was inspired in equal parts by the Lindsay/Adam moments in the premiere, Dirt Road Anthem by Jason Aldean, Take a Back Road by Rodney Atkins, and the road trip Oneturtledove and I took to Oregon a few weeks ago. **

**Dedicated to Rachel for a million and one reasons. I love you, beef-ef. **

**Disclaimer: I stake no claims to the CSI:NY franchise. This fanfic is just a product of an over-active imagination and isn't for any kind of profit. **

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><p><em>And it makes me want to take a back road,<br>Makes me want to take the long way home,  
>Put a little gravel in my travel,<br>Unwind, unravel all night long,  
>Makes me wanna grab my honey,<br>Tear down some two lane country,  
>Who knows,<br>Get lost and get right with my soul,  
><em>-'Take A Back Road' by Rodney Atkins;

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><p>She had been in a foul mood all day; Danny had called her to a crime scene three hours before her shift was supposed to start (which was just seven hours after her last one had ended), they still weren't discussing whatever he had gone through after Reuben had been killed, and it had started pouring in the middle of searching the scene – which, of course, was outside. Her shift lasted until late in the afternoon when Mac had stuck his head in their office long enough to tell Lindsay to go home.<p>

Bag slung over her shoulder and damp hair curling wildly around her face, she stood on the sidewalk in front of the crime lab contemplating whether she wanted to spend her allotted grocery money on a cab home or if she wanted to get stuck on a train that would inevitably be both crowded and muggy. She was about to raise her hand for a cab when a hand on her shoulder stopped her. She spun on her heels but deflated when she saw it was Adam, "hey."

"Hey yourself," he smiled and squeezed her shoulder, "you look like you've had one hell of a day."

"Understatement," she sighed, "it's just been one of those days where if this was Montana... I'd spend the night chasing the moon in my daddy's truck but this is New York City so I'm thinking a carton of Ben & Jerry's and the Soap Network on cable."

"Well," Adam considered her plans while stroking his stubble, "you could do that or we could take a drive."

"You're not working?"

"Nah," he held up a hand full of manilla folders, "I just came to pick these up because I have court late tomorrow morning."

"A drive does sound really good right now," she bit her lip, rocking from side to side in consideration, "and I don't have to work tomorrow because Mac has banned me until I get some rest."

"You know you want to," he dangled his keys in front of her face, "you and me, a full tank of gas in the jeep, and all the country music you want."

"Sold," she threw her arms around his neck, "you're the best."

He held her gingerly but firmly, "I think this is just what you need Miss Monroe."

"Get in your chariot and drive," she ordered.

Her arm slipped around his and she leaned tiredly against him as they walked down the sidewalk to where he had parked his Jeep Wrangler. Lindsay's heart was feeling lighter with just the idea of getting out of the city for the night. Every bit of her adored the city that never sleeps but her heart beat the rhythm of a tried and true country girl that craved the soft song of the cicadas playing in tune with the slow rumble of trains on the distant tracks. She needed this. She needed a night sky where she could see the stars peak through the cloud covers. An empty road that seemed to go on forever with her best friend in the seat beside her and a gravelly country voice pouring out of the speakers was just what the doctor had ordered.

Adam chivalrously held the door open for her and she giggled while climbing into the vehicle. Her sandals were toed off instantaneously and she unfastened a few buttons on her plaid shirt to reveal her undershirt while her companion for the evening slid into the driver's seat. She crossed her ankles on the dashboard while he plugged his iPod into the adapter before handing it off to her.

She scrolled through his endless choices as he navigated the fastest way out of the city. By the time they were crossing the George Washington bridge Lindsay had started playing Montgomery Gentry. Her tanned barefoot tapped against the dashboard as Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry crooned about how all they needed was an open road and a fast car to get over their broken hearts. Adam watched her carefully out of the corner of his eye and smiled softly as she sang quietly along to music that she could probably quote off better than he could list the table of elements (and he could in their actual order, alphabetical, and chronological – but he's not one to brag). He manages to find his way through the edge of Jersey and heads for the mainland of upstate New York in hopes of finding some vacant road to travel on until they grew tired.

The late summer sun was fading into the oblivion beyond the windshield as they wound their way through a sea of endless trees and small highway towns until Adam found a dirt road that ran off the side of US 209 in Kerhonkson. Lindsay snorted when she saw the small green sign with the town name scrawled across it, "What kind of name is Kerhonkson?"

"You've got a problem with Kerhonkson, Miss Bozeman," he shot a raised eyebrow in her direction as he pulled off the main road, "did you know that Kerhonkson is actually considered to be a small hamlet and in conjunction with Accord it makes up the larger city of Rochester."

"I rescind my sarcasm," Lindsay grinned, "you're better than Wikipedia."

"Thank ya kindly, Miss Monroe," he teased with a god-awful twang, "that's mighty nice of ya."

"Watch it, cowboy," she warned him, "you're mighty close to insultin' the south with that voice of yours."

"Sorry," he chuckled, "we don't got no accents in Arizona."

"Or grammar either... apparently."

"Shuddup," he grinned,"I've heard you say 'ain't never did nothin' the other day."

"Yeah," she smirked, "mama would have washed my mouth out with soap for that one."

"You hungry," he asked as spotted a small country store on the edge of beautiful nothingness.

"I could eat," Lindsay shrugged, "but if we hear dueling banjos..."

"We'll be quick about it."

He parked in front of the small family run store and Lindsay turned off the music before they both clambered out of the vehicle, popping their backs and necks on the way, before slipping through the sliding door to air conditioned glory. An old man nodded a greeting at them from behind the counter and a high school boy in an apron with a broom asked if they needed any assistance as they meandered through the aisles. Lindsay found herself linking arms with Adam and falling against him again as they walked through the store and not minding when he dropped a kiss to the crown of her hair. She could only imagine what anyone who was looking on at them thought but she didn't much care; it was nice to be touched and cared about by a dear friend after being alone for so long.

They dropped boxes of cookies and bags of chips into the basket as they wandered. Prepackaged sandwiches joined their junk food dinner and Adam grabbed them bottled water from a cooler before they went to the vacant register to checkout. The old man rung up their purchases with a smile, "you folks from around here?"

"Not in the least," Adam supplied with a chuckle, "we're just a couple of country folks who needed to get away from the city for a night."

He nodded, "Grew up in Brooklyn myself but there's something about being able to see the stars that settles the soul."

"Yes sir," Lindsay smiled at him while Adam paid, "your store is really nice. I used to work at a place like this back home."

"Where ya from, darlin'?"

"Montana," she informed him, "and he's from Arizona."

"Long way from home."

Adam cast a sideways glance at Lindsay, "or maybe not so far at all."

The man smiled knowingly, "I hope you all find exactly what you're looking for."

They thanked him before returning to the vehicle. The stars were starting to speckle the darkening sky as they continued driving, snacks opened between them and Tim McGraw's beautiful voice serenading them. A boot-stomper came on after the slow song and Lindsay found herself dancing in her seat as she sang at the top of her lungs Adam watched her with absolute amusement while winding his way through cornfields and creeks.

Ashokan reservoir seemed to sneak up on them when the moon had risen high in the sky. The golden harvest moon seemed to light even the rolling Catskill mountains in the distance and Adam parked against the fence that protected the reservoir from outsiders. A blanket was swiped from it's place over the spare tire and spread across the hood of the car before they climbed up to rest against the windshield. A soft, chilly wind swept across the water, Lindsay's arms wrapped around one of Adam's as she curled into his side, "I really needed this."

"Honestly," Adam spoke to the darkness, "I did too. Sometimes... it's really good to get out of the city and remember what it's like to breathe."

"Ah, the wonders of clean air." She grinned at the feeling of his chest shaking with laughter beneath her touch.

"When I was a kid in Arizona," his tone was somber, "my dad was a... he was a real piece of work but he wasn't always horrible and sometimes when he was in a good mood he would pull me out of bed in the middle of the night and we'd just drive. We'd leave Phoenix's lights in our rear view mirror and drive out into the desert. He'd wrap me in his heavy Carhart and we'd sit in the bed of his rusted out Ford until the sun started to rise... of course then we would drive like a bat out of hell in an attempt to beat the heat home."

Lindsay smiled, "I know what you mean, my mom and dad used to pull us kids out of our beds, bundle us up, and we'd drive up into the mountains. I mean real mountains, not them hills over there."

"Mountain snob."

"Dang straight," she laughed, "so, we'd drive up into real mountains because mama always told us that if we got high enough we could touch the moon."

Adam smiled at her memory, "Did you ever reach it?"

"Nope," she smiled and crossed her feet, "I always tried though."

"I wish you could."

"On nights like this," she turned away from him slightly to look up at the night sky, "when it's so big and bright like that, I like to believe I can."

"Even now," he couldn't help but ask.

"Yeah," Lindsay sat up to pull her knees to her chest, "even now. Even now when evil men shoot innocent girls and boyfriends cheat and buildings explode and people hurt people for no other reason than simply because they can. I know I can't really touch the moon but I think if I were ever to stop believing that I could I would go crazy."

"You're beautiful." His voice was hardly more than a rasp as he tucked a wild curl behind her ear.

"Adam," she breathed his name like a prayer.

He sat up to look at her, "I know. I just... you're beautiful, Lindsay Monroe, just as much on the inside as on the outside."

"You're too good for me." Despite herself, she found herself burrowing her head against his chest; the rough fabric of his shirt against her soft cheek and the gentle scent of his cologne permeated her senses, her fingers curled into his collar and without permission hot tears peppered his shoulder.

He pulled her closer, practically into his lap, as she wept. Adam was all too aware that she had been barely holding herself together and if she needed to fall apart then he was more than happy to hold her. An old country song became a lullaby as he mumbled the lyrics against her ear and rocked them gently.

They didn't speak about her tears when she finally pulled away but he wiped her hair from her face and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. It lasted a second longer than mere friendship but had remained chaste in it's existence, creating a million and one things they would need to talk about when the sun rose. Limbs tangled together and their faces hid in the crook of one another's neck, they stayed silent until the trill of a distant owl pulled them back to the present. Adam cleared his throat, "we should probably head back to the city. It's a long drive and some of us have mornings that will come too fast."

"I'll drive," she pulled the keys from their spot on his belt loop, "you sleep. I need some one-on-one time with the road."

"Wake me when we get back to the city," Adam instructed before helping her down.

He dozed in the reclined front seat while Lindsay retraced their movements back to the New York City boundaries. Her window was unzipped and she kept the music almost muted letting the cicadas keep her company until they reached population and then she found herself abandoning the radio completely to sing old Patsy Cline songs that had been collecting dust in the recesses of her memory. There was something about Patsy that had always opened her up enough to tear down her walls but now it was healing. She worked her way through _Walkin' After Midnight_, _Crazy, I Fall to Pieces_, _Sweet Dreams (of You)_, _She's Got You_, and _Leavin' on Your Mind_ before segueing into Patsy's best friend, Loretta Lynn. It was the music that had been the hallmark of her childhood and she sang it until the outline of the New York City skyline was before her.

"Your voice is beautiful," Adam informed her sleepily when she pulled into a gas station parking lot to switch drivers and gas up, "I mean, I knew it was but that old stuff... real pretty."

She blushed deeply, "I... just... thank you."

"Mhmm," Adam hummed.

Ten minutes later and they were back on the road with Adam in the driver's seat. Lindsay was quiet as she sat cross legged in the large seat, leaned against the door frame as the city seemed to pass by them in a blur. Contemplation seemed to cloud her mind from intelligent conversation and she was lost in a "should I or shouldn't I" battle between her heart and her mind. The war was still waging when Adam put the jeep in park at the front door of her apartment building. In a moment of rash decisions, she told her brain to shut up and leaned across the center console to kiss Adam Ross senseless.

There was nothing earth shattering about their lips dancing with one another and Lindsay was pretty sure that the 'fireworks' on the back of her lids were just the bright lights of the city working to blind her, instead of all the cliches coming true the kiss just seemed to fit. Their souls just seemed to go together in a perfect fit and the kiss was a physical representation of the invisible. She pulled away after a moment to smile at him, "that was..."

"Yeah," he breathed, "it certainly was."

"Look, Adam," she moved back to her own seat, "I'm kind of a mess right now but I wouldn't mind doing that again in the future when I'm not a mess anymore."

"Okay," he smiled and squeezed her hand that was still on the console, "I don't mind waiting."

"I'll try not to take long," she promised as she gathered her shoes and bag before slipping out of the vehicle.

Everything was lighter as she watched Adam's jeep disappear into a sea of cars and she danced through the front door of her apartment building feeling like she had finally touched the moon.


End file.
